Toronto’s Paul Watson had his passport taken away in Germany three years ago, after warrants were issued for his arrest from Japan and Costa Rica for anti-whaling activities that resulted in his organization, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, paying Japanese whalers $2.55 million after defying a court injunction preventing them from coming close to fishing vessels. The Sea Shepherd Society, well-known from the popular reality TV series Whale Wars, follows whaling ships and directly intervenes in their operations in an effort to save the whales from being harpooned and killed. We talked to Watson from his home in Paris where he is currently living while unable to travel back to Canada to visit family.
So why are you no longer a Canadian citizen?
I am still a Canadian citizen. My passport was confiscated in October 2012, which means I can not enter Canada because I have dual citizenship and it is illegal for a Canadian citizen to enter Canada on a foreign passport.
Why do you blame Stephen Harper?
A passport can not be confiscated without explanation or reasons given by a regular bureaucrat. My lawyer in Germany reported that the Canadian Consulate in Frankfurt said they had orders to send the passport to Ottawa. So if not Harper, then certainly the minister of foreign affairs or a very senior bureaucrat who I doubt would do so without ministerial approval.
Do you think the current government is at war with environmentalists? If so, why?
I don’t think, I know they are. They harass all of us: David Suzuki, myself and many others. They are working to remove tax status for environmental NGOs. They have files on environmental protestors.
Apparently, the government has said that you can reapply. Will you?
I will, so it will be interesting to see if they deny me.
This all happened years ago, in Germany, so why is this a thing now?
I have not been able to get answers for three years, so I posted it on Facebook explaining the situation and was contacted by Reuters in Ottawa and by journalists in Australia.
Paris isn’t a bad place to be holed up though, right?
No it’s not, but I am a Canadian, and I believe I have a right to my passport. I have not broken any laws in Canada. There is no warrant for me.
Do you still have family here in Toronto and this area of the country?
I have family in Toronto and London, Montreal and Calgary, Vancouver, Quebec City and St. Stephen, New Brunswick.
Why isn’t Canada standing up to Japan? Aren’t they in contravention of an international agreement?
Very good question. Japanese whaling has been condemned by the International Court of Justice and the International Whaling Commission.
What keeps you motivated? I mean, most activists burn out in a couple years, but you never slow down.
I have been an activist since I was 11 years old. I don’t find it stressful. In fact, I find what I do to be very satisfying, especially being able to save so many lives.
If you could send a message to Stephen Harper, one message, what would it be?
I would tell him to take a good look at where we are heading, what kind of future we are leaving to our children. Climate change and the mass diminishment of species and eco-systems is the greatest threat to the survival of humanity. His responsibility is the future and not just to the corporations he is so dutifully serving.
